St. Paul daily globe., 1887-06-28
The Town of Marshfield, Wis, Com
pletely Destroyed by a Terrible
MONDAY Conflagration.
Nearly 1000 People Spent Last Night
Huddled Feneath Various Kinds
of Improvissd Shelters.
The Blackfoot, Mont, Jail Emptied of
the Horse Thieves and Assassins
Confined Therein.
A Prairie Du Chen Man Who Has a
Burglar Proof SOfa-.-North-
western News.
Special to the Globe.


MARsHFIELD, Wis, June 27.-Fire
started in Upham's lumber yard at noon
to-day and wiped out the entire busi-
ness portion of the city, including Up
hams plants, consisting of flour mill,
grain elevator, sawmill, planning mill
and furniture and evener factory. All
the business places are gone, excepting
one store. Five business blocks and
many residences are entirely wiped out
of existence. About L 800 people are
without shelter and food, and are very
badly in need. The scene beggars de-
Scription. The loss will aggregate
nearly s1,O00,0O0. 1t is impossible to
give any particulars in regard to the in
Sured as yet. The fire is fully under
control now. Three children were suf-
located in the fire.
MILWAUKEE, June 27.-Fire almost
swept the town of Marshfield out of
existence this afternoon, and 1000 peO-
pie are homeless. The loss is not less
than S1,OOO,OOO. All communication by
wire is cut Off and it is almost impossible
to learn particulars. A locomotive
spark started a blaze at noon in the
lumbr yard of the Upham furniture
factory, and it rapidly developed into a
roaring fire that spread toward the
town. Insufficient facilities prevented
any assistance to the flames and soon
several flour factories, the business
blocks along the main street and adjOin-
ing residences were wrapped III flames.
The people gathered such household
effects as they could and
FLED TO THE WOODS.
The heat was so intense that $500 feet
of the Wisconsin Central track, which
runs through one end of the town, was
bent and twisted into the most gro
teSque shapes. Travel cannot be re-
Sumed on this account until tomorrow.
Specials from Stevens Point and Chip
pewa Falls conveyed fire engines to the
place, but the fire was beyond all con-
troll. But one store and few half
burned houses remain of the f1ouriShing
town. Many people were transferred
by specials to neighbOring towns and
others camped out on the outskirts of
the woods. Among the buildings that
were destroyed were woodenware fac
tory, alcohol factory, the grist mill, saw
mill and factory of the Upham Manu-
several minor hotels, warehouses along
the Wisconsin Central tracks, its
depots, four churches, and the entire
business center. The insurance is less
than one-fifth the loss.
1t is impossible to obtain detailed
losses of the Marshfeld fire tonight.
THE MEAGER ACCOUNTS
received of it come from neigh
boring towns, whose hospitality has
been thrown open to the thousand home
less inhabitants. But few have availed
themselves of it, however, most of the
people being housed for the night under
blankets and such household furniture
piled up as was saved. The scene
is a pitiable one. The wearied
men and distracted women are
watching the remnant of their posses
siOns promiscuously scattered around in
the surrounding woods, which are lit UP
tonight by the glow that comes from
the still burning mass that covered acres
and represented thriving village. So
rapid was the spread of the fire that
LITTLE COULD BE SAVED.
Frantic men and women used vehicles
of every description to save goods
part of the town. Messages have
been received that the people are
but scantilY supplied with provisions
and there will be suffering unless aid is
dispatched at once. Supt. Allen, of the
Wisconsin Central, who has been get
ting scraps of information over his wire,
says that there was no wind prevailing,
and it is difficult to account for the fire.
1t started, as near as Supt. Allen could
learn, at IL 80 o'clock in the forenoon in
the Upham lumber yard, and spread
very rapidly. Its direction was toward
the Upham Manufacturing company
and the town. The Central depot was
soon swept away, as was the company's
water tank and pile bridge just west
of the town, about 800 feet in length.
The bridge was one over which the
main line runs, and its destruction i'm
peded travel all of tonight. Transfers
were made at the point.